Preview of Clippers-Trail Blazers game
The Game
The L.A. Clippers open their season against the Portland Trail Blazers tonight at the Staples Centre. The Trail Blazers are coming off a season opening win against Steve Nash and the Phoenix Suns. The Trail Blazers are running on high confidence with their
decisive 106-92 win that saw them dominate the last quarter outshooting the Suns 31-11.
The Clippers looking for a fresh start
The Clippers enter the regular season tied with the New Orleans Hornets for the worst pre-season record in the league with only one win in eight games played
The Clippers are hoping that last year’s first overall draft pick Blake Griffin will be the difference-maker for the team. Last year Griffin was unable to play his rookie season due to a fractured knee cap suffered in their final preseason game. Griffin
missed the entire 82 games of the regular season and had to watch his team go 29-53 to miss the playoffs for the fourth season in a row.
Having to watch the Clippers miss the play-offs for the 15th time in the past 17 seasons made an impression on the young 21-year-old.
Thankfully for the Clippers Griffin is back with solid preseason numbers of 17.3 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. "Sitting out all year really gave me kind of a different perspective and it really put a fire inside of me and made me realize my love for
the game," Griffin said. "I'm really excited."
The power forward Griffin will join center Chris Kaman in the starting lineup along with guards Eric Gordon and Baron Davis and perhaps Ryan Gomes playing small forward.
The 7ft centre Kaman was the lead scorer last season with 18.5 points per game along with a 9.3 rebound average. Kaman has taken this solid play into this year with pre-season averages of 16 points and 7.1 rebounds.
Despite an upsetting preseason for the Clippers, Gordon – averaging 14.9 points this preseason – remains confident going into the season, and Griffin agrees. "Most definitely we'll be a whole better team than last year. It's just a better vibe and everybody
is listening," said Griffin adding, "I think the expectations will be fulfilled. We just need to keep guys healthy."
The Clippers opener against Trail Blazers may not be an ideal match-up for L.A. considering that they have lost nine of the last 11 games to them.
Trail Blazers going for win number two
The Trail Blazers find themselves once again on the road playing the Clippers tonight after beating the Suns Tuesday in Phoenix. This should be no cause for distress since they have won five of their last six games played against the Clippers in L.A.
Portland’s lead scorer the past three seasons – Brandon Roy – is coming off a hot performance against the Suns where he made 24 points and six assists on the night. Roy averaged 21.5 points a game last year as Portland’s main offensive power source but Tuesday
night saw Nicolas Batum contribute to the win with 19 points and 11 rebounds of his own. His performance against the Suns led to his second career double-double with 13 of his points coming in the final six minutes of the game.
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